Beneath the Goshinboku
by libertinium
Summary: Inuyasha's messed up. AGAIN. Shippo knows he has to do SOMETHING to make Kagome happy, even if it cuts short Inuyasha's torture. Fluff galore.


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha, if I did, it would never be over and Kikyo would be DEAD and have stayed dead the second time!!!! And Souta would be much more annoying and renamed Kyle after my little brother and something HORRIBLE would have happened to him in the first episode (mauled by a rabid rabbit, perhaps?)… so be glad I don't own it and revel in your secret victory over America, Takahashi, for now…

So yeah, my first one-shot, be kind. It's all fluffy, I'm sorry, I tried to de-fluff it in my head, but I don't think my mental lint-roller's working, many apologies. And yeah, I realize that it is strange for Inuyasha to smile, but not unheard of. He's not a freakin' emo, so it's okay. Sorry, bitter about that generalization of him.

Okay then…

ON WITH THE STORY OR OFF WITH MY HEAD!!!

* * *

A raven-haired girl leaned against the trunk of the Sacred Tree, sullenly staring at her feet. She let out a shriek of frustration and drew her knees to her chest, sighing. The wind gently brushed her hair in front of her dark brown eyes, making it stick to her tear-soaked cheeks. Above her, a set of clawed fingers dug into the soft branch their owner was perched upon. A pair of amber eyes watched her intently as she silently composed herself only to be overtaken once more by another fit of exasperated sobs.

He hated it when Kagome cried, but ironically enough, it was usually him who caused her tears. He knew it, he didn't want to admit that it was his fault, but this time, as was almost every time, it was. He felt guilty, he always did, but just like always he wasn't about to apologize. She would be mad, for a while, but she'd get over it.

It was a stupid fight, in his eyes, nothing to get upset over. The point of the argument was lost to him, as were most of their words. Something about Kouga, the only thing he really remembered was that it had torn him away from his ramen.

A rustling sound made both teenagers look up, but Inuyasha already knew what was coming. Kagome wiped her eyes and stop sniffling the instant the tiny red-haired kitsune broke through the bushes. Even though she had successfully suppressed the remnants of her tears, the stinging smell of salt and water lingered in Inuyasha's sensitive nose.

The annoying little fox demon bounced across the small clearing and settled into Kagome's arms comfortably, making a face at Inuyasha as Kagome smiled half-heartedly, still not aware of the guilty half-demon above her. She murmured a hello and Shippo looked up sorrowfully.

"Is Inuyasha being a jerk again, Kagome?" He asked, knowing the hanyou wouldn't dare growl and give away his position, much less terrorize him like usual. Kagome didn't answer him immediately, opting instead to stare somewhat blankly at the ground. She made a sound only distinguishable by Inuyasha's ears as a whimpered "mmhmm."

At the pitiful tone of her voice, the boy's dog-ears flattened against his long silver hair. She seemed really upset… _Maybe I should apologize… but not with that annoying BRAT of a demon around._ He wasn't humiliating himself in front of the others. Kagome, at least, wouldn't laugh at him, well… he didn't think she would… _NO! I'm not making a fool of myself for some stupid human!_

With one last glance at the girl, he muttered to himself and took off, leaping through the tree branches.

Kagome Higurashi looked up as a gust of wind from above sent her hair flying every which way. Blinking, she tried to think of an explanation, but she suddenly knew. Turning to Shippo, she looked him straight in the eye.

"Was Inuyasha here just a moment ago?" Shippo reluctantly nodded and she stared at him. So he wasn't mad at her? That was a surprise, considering she'd said some pretty mean things… she sighed, her mind flashing back to their argument.

He had started in on her about being a little too friendly with Kouga on the wolf's previous visit. She had innocently enough said that she was simply helping out a friend, he inquired why in seven hells did she consider HIM to be a friend and she had made the mistake of saying something totally meaningless, which transmutated in the weird, twisted myriad of a brain he had to mean something totally different and a little more important.

She had told him that the reason that she considered him a friend is because she liked him. Which Inuyasha apparently had taken to mean that she liked Kouga A LOT more than she liked him and was about to run off with the wolf. Which was silly, really. Why would she stay with Inuyasha all this time if it was Kouga that she really… loved?

Inuyasha didn't know how she really felt, but he had to have had an idea… he wasn't THAT dense… she sighed, _well… if he doesn't know by now… he must be…_ Maybe he was jealous because he wasn't sure what he meant to her… she blinked back tears. Why was she crying again? Wiping her eyes, she hugged her knees, squishing her fox companion in the process.

Shippo looked up, the girl obviously didn't take much comfort in his presence. _Maybe… I should just go and bug Inuyasha to apologize._ He knew the half-demon wouldn't, but it would give him something to do until Kagome was in a better mood. Sighing, he glanced back at the forlorn look on her face once more and bounced away.

Breaking through the underbrush, he saw Inuyasha sulking at the river's edge. His face, blank, and his body in a telltale position, legs crossed Indian-style and his arms buried in the red sleeves of his haori. A single ear swiveled around in annoyance at the young demon's approach, but its owner was intent on ignoring him.

"Kagome's crying." Shippo said bluntly.

"I saw." Inuyasha muttered, his tone was curt, but Shippo couldn't help but notice his shoulders sag just a bit. He decided to press on.

"You should apologize." He matter-of-factly replied. Inuyasha seemed to consider it for a moment, but then a low growl escaped his throat.

"Stay out of it, runt. It's none of your damn business." Shippo glared at him, leaping to his shoulder to yell in his ear.

"It is too! You hurt Kagome, so it's EVERYONE'S business!" Sighing, the dog demon pushed the fox from his arm.

"Leave me alone." He said quietly, looking away. The young boy ground his teeth together.

"You'd better apologize to Kagome or I'm going to hold my breath until I pass out!" Inuyasha blinked and glanced at him slyly.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" But Shippo couldn't reply, as his cheeks were puffed out and his face was already turning red. Inuyasha tried not to laugh sadistically as he watched him, as the poor kid was killing whatever brain cells he had left just to make Kagome feel better. _And here I wouldn't even sacrifice a small sliver of my dignity for her… maybe I AM being selfish…_

"Fine." He muttered sourly. Shippo blinked, letting out a gasping breath as he did so.

"What?" He queried incredulously.

"Fine." Grudgingly, Inuyasha stood. "I'll apologize." Shippo sighed in relief, but realized too late that he didn't have enough breath in his lungs yet to commit such and action and passed out, leaving Inuyasha to stare down blankly before blinking himself into action and scooping the fox up worriedly, glad to hear even breathing. He was fine, if a little bit oxygen-deprived.

Kagome stared down at her feet, not knowing quite what to do. There was no way Inuyasha was going to apologize. He had probably forgotten what he'd said to make her so upset in the first place, wincing at the painful memory, she felt hot tears rushing to her eyes again.

"At least Kikyo would know a no-good wolf when she saw one!" He'd barked in her face. That one had hurt… the fact that he'd compared her to Kikyo… Shuddering, she closed her eyes tightly, not letting the tears out or the picture of the now dead priestess' face in. Movement around her made her open them again and she saw, with a certain amount of surprise, a strangely calm Inuyasha with what appeared to be an unconscious Shippo in his arms. Kagome gasped and stood up quickly, previously disturbing thoughts forgotten.

"What did you… what did you do to him?" Inuyasha growled at the accusatory look on her face.

"It's not like I hit him or anything!" He yelled defensively. She saw the hurt look on his face and sighed, walking over and plucking the comatose child out of the half-demon's arms.

"Well then what happened?" She asked quietly, intent on not meeting his eye. Kneeling down to set Shippo down on the ground, Kagome examined him for bumps, just in case.

"He held his breath for too long and passed out." Inuyasha mumbled. Kagome looked up.

"And why was he holding his breath…?" Inuyasha didn't reply, just knelt down on the opposite side of the tiny fox.

"He'll be alright now… right?" Biting her lip, Kagome checked his heart and breathing, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." She couldn't help but smile when Inuyasha attempted to choke back a sigh of relief. "So you never told me why he was holding his breath so long." She watched him fall from his back haunches to a sitting position, resting a hand of one knee. He sighed and stared at the ground, not quit sure what to say.

"I… He wanted me to apologize to you… for being such a jerk, I guess…" Wasn't he always mad when SHE called him a jerk? And here he was berating himself. She was about to speak, but he interrupted. "But I didn't want to… make a fool of myself… Demons aren't… they're not supposed to be sorry… They're not supposed to feel guilty… but I do… I didn't want to make you cry… I don't like making you sad… I like to make you…" He stopped suddenly, as Kagome had launched herself at him, wrapping he arms around his neck. Sputtering, he blushed. "I like… I like making you smile, Kagome." He breathed, slipping his arms around her shoulders. She buried her face into his haori, sighing contentedly.

"You do… Inuyasha… when you're yourself." She murmured, he glanced down at her questioningly.

"What do you mean, 'When I'm myself'?" She pulled away, making him instantly wish he hadn't asked.

"When you talk about becoming full demon… it worries me, Inuyasha…" He stared at her. This was the first time in a while they had talked about this. "I don't… I don't want to lose you… and I'm afraid that if you use the Shikon Jewel to become full demon… you might lose yourself to the demon blood in your veins, just like when you transform…" Inuyasha rested his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry… I'll still be me." Kagome looked away and Inuyasha noticed a slight gleam in the corner of her eye. Dammit, he'd made her cry again. "Kagome… are you… crying? Don't you trust me?" She looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't want you to change… I lo-… like you in this form, Inuyasha." He watched her try to recover from her blunder, a grimace spreading across her features. Had she… had she really almost said that she loved him as a half-demon? "Well I…" She blushed profusely, "I mean… I'd lov… I mean, like you in any form… I just…" Inuyasha smiled lightly, his hand slipping atop hers. "You don't have to change, Inuyasha." She finally whispered in a small voice. With that, she gathered a now sleeping Shippo into her arms and stood up, their hands parting slowly. Inuyasha watched her leave reluctantly, feeling as thought there was something he'd forgotten.

"Oi! Kagome!" She turned back with a puzzled look on her face. Inuyasha stood up, taking a step towards her. "I'm sorry." Kagome blinked, as if not believing her ears.

"W-what?" Inuyasha looked down.

"I didn't mean what I said about Kikyo… it wasn't true… she trusted that bastard Onigumo, right? Kouga will… ah…" He scratched the back of his neck, his eyes averting hers and taking flight to the sky. "At least that scrawny wolf will protect you when I… can't. I'll give him that much." He blinked, the fondness in his face gone. "But, you know, only for a little while." He said rather gruffly. Kagome smiled, stepping forward.

"Of course, Inuyasha." She murmured, planting a light kiss on his cheek. He stood, blinking, trying to make sense of her action. She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm, turning her toward him. She looked up quizzically as he cupped her chin in his hands. "Inu…?" The second half of his name caught in her throat as he kissed her. On the lips.

A raven-haired girl stood underneath the Sacred Tree, securely wrapped in a dog-eared boy's arms, a sleeping fox-child cradled between them.

THE END.

* * *

w00t.

Yup, my first ever finished fanfic. And you guys get to see it... don't you feel special???

Well... don't you?!

Tell me how much you liked (and/or hated) it!!!

REVIEW!!!!!


End file.
